


I want it to be you

by RinChanSanMatsuoka



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Middle School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Kiss, Kid Fic, M/M, Middle School, Rin never went to Australia and came back to Sano for jr high, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, awkward children being cute, marks appear around the onset of puberty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 22:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5393306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/pseuds/RinChanSanMatsuoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke's soulmate mark appears first and Rin's not sure how to react.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I want it to be you

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write middle school sourins and needed some fluff after Kaidan. Enjoy some cute, awkward kids!

“Hey, Rin, come here for a sec.”

Sousuke’s voice echoed through the nearly empty locker room, causing Rin to look up from adjusting his goggle straps.  Without having to see his best friend, Rin could tell from the tone alone that Sousuke was embarrassed.  Rin grinned a bit and rounded the row of lockers, curious to see what was up with Sousuke.

 “What’s up, Sou?  We gotta hurry or coach with get mad if we’re late,” Rin said, moving closer to his friend.  Sousuke was fidgeting with the waistband of his jammers, a small frown on his red face.

“Rin, can I show you something?  I just noticed it this morning.”  The fidgeting increased and without waiting for Rin’s answer, Sousuke started tugging down on the waistband.

Rin felt his own face burn brightly.  He dropped his goggles as he put his hands up to cover his eyes.  “Sousuke, what the hell?!”  He heard his own voice crack and he clamped his mouth shut, growing even more embarrassed.

“What?  Rin, don’t be stupid!  It’s nothing like that, you idiot!”  Sousuke’s voice was shaking, as though he were about to yell or cry.  It couldn’t be the latter, though.  Sousuke never cried.

Hands wrapped around Rin’s wrists, tugging and pulling until his hands moved away from his eyes.  Sousuke’s face was so close to his own that Rin could almost count the eyelashes surrounding those pretty, sea green eyes.  Startled by that thought, Rin pushed Sousuke back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“F-Fine,” he grumbled, internally cursing how his voice stuttered, “Show me already so we can go swim.” 

An annoyed look crossed Sousuke’s face briefly before he pulled down his jammers slightly, exposing his right hip.  “This is what I wanted to show you.”

There, on the jut of Sousuke’s hip, was a small shark tattoo.  It was inked onto the tan skin in a variety of different black lines, some dark and thick, others thin and delicate.  The shark tilted downwards, head facing Sousuke’s outer hip as the tail pointed up towards his belly button.

Unconsciously, Rin reached out to touch it, small fingers brushing over the dark lines before Sousuke slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch it, stupid.  It feels weird,” Sousuke grumbled, pulling his jammers back up to cover the shark.  “I just wanted you to know, okay?  You’re my best friend.”

Rin wasn’t sure why his chest tightened up at those words.  Why did he care so much about Sousuke getting his stupid soulmate mark?  Was it just because Sousuke had gotten his first?  Or was it because a tiny voice in the back of his head desperately wished that when his mark arrived, it would match his best friend’s?

As if Sousuke could sense that something was wrong, Rin felt his friend nudge him a bit before saying, “Don’t get so upset just ‘cause I got mine first.  Now c’mon, coach is really gonna yell at us if we don’t hurry.”  With a grin, he ran past Rin and out of the locker room.

It took Rin a minute to snap out of his stupor before he was snatching his goggles off the floor and running after Sousuke.

* * *

The two of them kept Sousuke’s mark a secret from everyone else.  Sousuke was glad that it was in a place that was easily hidden, because he didn’t want others to see it.  They didn’t talk about it much and whenever it was brought up, Rin would clam up and refuse to talk until Sousuke changed the subject.

Rin worried that Sousuke would catch onto why he was upset.  After all, he couldn’t keep pretending he was still bothered by the fact that Sousuke’s mark had shown up first.  But how was he supposed to explain _why_ he was upset?  He didn’t even really understand it himself.  All he knew was that he was now faced with the very real possibility that Sousuke wouldn’t always be his.  Sousuke had been his best friend for years and the thought of not being with him for the rest of their lives scared Rin.

* * *

A month went by since the appearance of Sousuke’s mark and Rin’s melancholy had yet to break.  The tension between the two friends finally came to a head one day when Rin told Sousuke he wanted to eat lunch alone.  Sousuke had gotten upset and dragged Rin from the room, not letting go of his arm until they were outside.

“Rin, just tell me what’s wrong!  I know it’s because of the mark but something else is bugging you about it, so just… tell me.  Please?”  Sousuke ran out of steam at the end, his previous anger vanishing as he pouted.  “We’re best friends, Rin.  You can tell me.”

Rin fidgeted a bit, looking down at his feet for a moment, trying to think of how to answer.  After a few moments of awkward silence he finally whispered, “I’m scared you’ll hate me if I tell you.”  He glanced up, seeing Sousuke’s eyes widen before the taller boy stepped closer to him.

“I’d never hate you, Rin…  How could you think that?”

Feeling tears burn his eyes, Rin rubbed at them, averting his gaze again.  “B-Because… Because I want our marks to match,” he said, so soft he almost wished that Sousuke wouldn’t hear him.

He was expecting Sousuke to get mad at him again, to call him gross or stupid.  What he wasn’t expecting was for Sousuke to wrap his arms around him and pull him into a tight hug.

“You should have just told me, stupid,” Sousuke mumbled and Rin could feel how hot his face was from where it was pressed against the top of his head.  “You always decide things before asking others.  I want our marks to match too, y’know.”

Eyes growing wide, Rin tried to pull back to look at Sousuke only to have Sousuke tighten his arms and keep him in place.  “Sou…?”  His voice was hesitant, hoping desperately that he was hearing this correctly.

“I’ve always wanted it to be you.  And even if it isn’t, I don’t care!  It’s just a stupid mark and you’re more important to me than that,” he finished with a huff, finally pulling back a bit so Rin could look at him.  His cheeks were bright red and his pretty teal eyes kept darting nervously between Rin’s face and the ground.

“Do you really mean that…?”  Rin felt tears burning his eyes again and a few slid down his face before he could stop them.  He moved to wipe them away but Sousuke’s hands were suddenly on his cheeks, catching the tears with his thumbs.

Sousuke’s face was still bright red as he nodded, giving Rin a nervous little smile.  “I mean that.”  Slowly, he leaned forward, hesitating for a brief moment before pressing dry lips against Rin’s own.

The kiss was soft and brief and slightly awkward as their noses bumped against each other.  When Sousuke pulled back, Rin pushed forward, wrapping his arms tightly around his best friend and pressing his tear-stained face into Sousuke’s shirt.  Sousuke returned the hug, smiling as he rested his chin on top of Rin’s head.

The moment was ruined when Sousuke’s stomach growled and both of them burst into laughter.  “We really should go eat, y’know,” he said, pulling away from Rin.  He moved to head back into the building before turning back to Rin and taking his hand.  “Let’s go.”

Rin stared at their hands for a moment, wide eyed before grinning brightly at his friend.  “Yeah, let’s eat!  I’ll race you back inside!”  He gave Sousuke’s hand a tight squeeze before he let go, running ahead of his friend and laughing happily.

* * *

A few weeks later, Rin discovered that his own mark while taking a bath.  His heart jumped for joy as he traced his fingers over the shark on his hip.  Despite Sousuke’s reassurance, Rin had still wanted a matching mark, to prove that they were meant to be together.  Plus, it was much more romantic this way.

He ran over to Sousuke’s house as soon as his bath was finished, not caring that it was dark and he still had homework to do.  After Sousuke’s mother let him into the house, he proceeded to run up to Sousuke’s room and fling his arms around his friend.

“Oi, Rin, what are you doing here?  It’s getting late!”  Sousuke huffed a bit, trying to wiggle out of Rin’s tight hug.

Pulling back a bit, Rin grinned at Sousuke before blurting out, “We match!” and tugging down his shorts to expose the skin on his hip.

Sousuke’s eyes widened and he stared at the mark before looking back up at Rin and breaking out into a grin of his own.  “I knew it,” he whispered, smile widening as he pulled Rin into a tight hug.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
